the 8th Doc...uh, Paul in BLACK LACE: THE STRANGER by Ka...uh...Portia Da Costa

BLACK LACE: THE STRANGER by Portia Da Costa is an adult novel that is recommended to be sold only to adults. Published in 1997, it is one of many novels that seems to be written by Virgin New Adventure/Missing Stories authors under psuedonyms. Indeed, a woman named Claudia is recently widowed and find a confused young man who seems to have dropped out of the sky or nowhere into a lake. From the back of the book: "When a confused and mysterous young man stumbles into the life of the recently widowed Claudia, he becomes the catalyst that reignites her sleeping sensuality. But is the handsome and angelic PAUL really a combinatation of innocent and voluptuary, amnesiac and genius? Claudia's friends becomes involved in trying to decide whthere he is a subtle an dsurpremely accomplished confidence trickster with a dark and depraved agenda or just a beaituful young man who has lost his memory. As an erotic obsession flowrs between them..and all taboos are obliterated, his true identity no longer seems tomatter. "

from page 4: "Tall and young looking, he had a longish mop of curly mid-brown hair..."

from page 11: "the ineffable strains of Madam Butterfly filled the room..."

15: :"a long Edwardian frock coat in black crushed velvet, which he wore with gray trousers , a black and grey striped brocade waistcoat and a wing collared shirt.."